Windows 7
Networking & Advanced Features

There are plenty of improvements for home users in Windows 7 but it really shines when you connect it to Windows Server 2008 Release 2. They were made for each other. But for home users, it's easier to connect Windows 7 PCs and devices at home in what is called the Home Group.

And Windows 7 introduces something called a library. Libraries make it easier to find, work with, and organize files that are scattered across your PC or network - no matter where it's actually stored

Say you're assembling a family album from images stashed on an external hard drive, your spouse's PC, and your work laptop. Getting them all in one place used to take some searching and copying. You also ended up with duplicates and needed to synch folders to keep them current.

In Windows 7, you create a library, name it something like "Family Photos", and then tell Windows which folders the new library should include. The photos are still physically located in three different spots-but now they show up in a single window for you to work with

Windows 7 comes with libraries for documents, music, pictures, and videos. But you can personalize these, or create more of your own.

Windows Search is also improved. Just start typing into the Start menu search box and you'll instantly see a list of relevant documents, pictures, music, and e-mail on your PC. Results are now grouped by category and contain h

ighlighted keywords and text snippets to make them easier to scan. It's faster than before and you can search on date, partial name or an attribute - not just the filename. Still didn't find it? Then use the Search Again In command and tell it to search again in a specific location like your laptop, work server or wherever.

Performance in Windows 7 is more robust on the same hardware. Previously, too many background services loaded automatically every time. Now they only load when you need them. So the Bluetooth service or QuickTime in Windows 7 stays off until you use a Bluetooth device or need to run QuickTime for example.

Windows 7 is also more memory efficient and less memory hungry than before. Windows 7 loads drivers and services in parallel - so it's faster on the same hardware.

It also handles power better - that's especially good for laptops with sleep mode, etc

The Action Center (flag in lower right-hand corner) shows your status in Backup, security, malware, etc.

One of the cool features of certain version of Windows Vista was Bitlocker. Bitlocker is drive encryption that protects your PC from hackers and other prying eyes. Bitlocker to Go is new in Windows 7. It offers encryption for removable devices too. That's where you really need encryption the most - on laptops and mobile storage when you are on the road.

Applocker is a feature that network admins will love. Applocker works as part of Group Policy and lets administrators lock access to specific applications, installer files and scripts. So you could set it so that people could only install Word 2007 for example - not earlier versions of Word. You could also block apps that you don't have legal licenses for or aren't on an approved list.

PSR - Problem Steps Recorder will be great for troubleshooting. When the user calls with a problem and claims they did nothing differently, have them start the PSR and repeat what they did. PSR will take screen captures and zip them up in a small file to send to you. You can see exactly what they did or didn't do. It doesn't record audio or video in this first release but it's still useful.

If you like the Command Prompt and batch files, you will love Windows PowerShell. PowerShell is batch files on steroids. You can troubleshoot, do maintenance and all kinds of tasks quickly and powerfully. 20 PowerShell scripts are included for FAQ.

Direct Access is a replacement for VPN (virtual private networks) but will be superior in several ways. For example, you can get Direct Access to the network - like a VPN without a VPN - using IP addresses. Make sure you get up to speed on IPv6 if you aren't already.

Branch Cache allows users to have the same experience in or out of the office. The user will click to access a document, say, and it doesn't matter where it is - on the laptop, network server, wherever - it will seamlessly load.

It's important to remember though that some of these features, say Bitlocker, only come with certain versions of Windows 7. Others like DirectAccess and BranchCache require Windows Server 2008R2.

So what should you buy and what hardware do you need? And what about your legacy XP apps that didn't run in Vista?

We'll answer those questions in the next podcast.

Learn more about Windows 7

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